No metal spikes at the VA?

[Rufus]

Just heard they aren't allowing metal cleats at the VA this year...Any truth to this? Have played here for several years in the past and never had issues with it. I'm sure it does damage the playing surface, so I understand why they would make this ruling, but will it impact teams that schedule games there through the season or will it impact the district tournament being played there? I'm sure players' parents don't want to buy a special pair of turf shoes for a single game...

[theburgtheword]

Zane Trace plays there tonight. No metal spikes.

[questionmark]

Just crazy. This will turn teams away from scheduling games at their venue. Just doesn't make Dollars and Sense...

The metal spikes cannot be hurting the field turf that badly. Plus I agree Bstud, you cannot expect families to throw money down on a pair of turf shoes for 1 or 2 games...

[bd452]

The reason is that turf company will not warantee the turf if metal spikes are worn on it.

[questionmark]

The reason is that turf company will not warantee the turf if metal spikes are worn on it.

Not designed to handle metal baseball spikes that are thin, but can handle football spikes with metal tips that are wider?
Guess I'll take the dirt and grass...

[Rufus]

So..the district tournament will still be held there? This seems like it could be a huge deal if a player has to wear plain tennis shoes for a district game or something...

[danicalifornia]

I'm sure players can track down some football or soccer cleats that are their size if they don't already have some, that way they aren't shelling out money for turf shoes and those other sport cleats would be fine anyways.

Other than the district tournament, if you have a problem with it, don't schedule a regular season game there. I'm sure they can find plenty of teams who would want to play there.

[js7_22]

Wright State has a turf field and use metal spikes, sounds to me like they don't want to maintain the field as much. Should have just went with a dirt mound and dirt home plate area, those are the main spot being worn down.

[svcbaseballfan]

If you have looked at the batters box you can tell where they have had to replace the turf often. As someone mentioned earlier, I think it has more to do with FieldTurf not offering a warranty if metal spikes are used. It actually does make Dollars and Sense if you look at the cost of replacing the turf as opposed to just following the rules of the warranty. If you look at other venues that use the FieldTurf brand, they do not allow spikes either.

[nice guy]

I watched the game at the VA tonight between Zane Trace and Paint Valley. Rained some during the game. I did not see much slipping. Especially, neither pitcher had any problems. Both pitchers threw well with very few walks.